Despite creating scoring opportunities at will — and dominating throughout — the Harrisburg City Islanders walked off Skyline Sports Complex bewildered Saturday night after playing USL Second Division playmate Charlotte to a scoreless draw. Danny Cepero made three saves for the City Islanders (1-4-2, 5 points), five fewer than Charlotte’s Erik Lefebvre.

QUICK STRIKES

Lefebvre has blanked the City Islanders twice. ... Cepero’s shutout was his first thus far — and the first for Harrisburg. ... The City Islanders had plenty of chances, outshooting Charlotte 12-7 and amassing nine corner kicks to the Eagles’ one. ... Sheanon Williams had Harrisburg’s best scoring chance, but his snapped header off a Jason Pelletier service in the 56th minute glanced off the crossbar.

PIVOTAL SEQUENCE

On Lefebvre from the start, the husky Charlotte keeper made a dandy dive to his right to deny Vince Petrasso in the ninth minute. Lefebvre also covered a David Schofield rip five minutes later to keep the City Islanders off the board, then caught a break in the 16th when Harrisburg’s 6-4, 210-pound Andrew Hoxie was upended just inside the penalty area. Despite the contact, center zebra Nabil Alsaidi did not blow his whistle and call for a penalty kick.

STOPPAGE TIME

Charlotte (3-3-2, 11 points) leads the season series 1-0-1. These teams will meet again next weekend in North Carolina. ... Former City Islanders defenders Ian Carter and Craig Tyrrell were among the 1,385 who checked into Skyline. So was USL president Tim Holt. ... Hoxie was on loan from the USL-1 Rochester Rhinos. ... Harrisburg’s Nate Jafta made his first appearance since pulling a hamstring against Charlotte on May 7.

YOU DON’T SAY

“We had several chances to score and we didn’t. We’re making this goalie look like he’s the top keeper in the league. He’s got 15 saves against us in two games.” — City Islanders head coach Bill Becher.

While the Harrisburg City Islanders valiantly attempted to disguise their disappointment when dozens of autograph-seeking youngsters bounced on to Skyline Sports Complex, Saturday night’s scoreless affair with Charlotte stung Bill Becher’s club quite a bit.

Might have left a few marks, too.

Not only on some City Islanders psyches already tenderized by a sluggish start, but also on Harrisburg’s long-term bid to reach the USL Second Division’s postseason party.

“That’s a tough one to swallow,” said Becher, whose City Islanders owned a 12-7 shot advantage and piled up nine corners to Charlotte’s one. “We did everything right and just couldn’t stick any in.

“Where we’re at, we’ve got to pick up three points at home,” Becher added. “Had we not given away a couple of the games that we gave away early, one point maybe doesn’t hurt here. But that’s a game we have to win. Played well enough to win and you don’t do it.”

Actually, the City Islanders could have been up 3-0 after just 15 minutes.

However, Vince Petrasso’s spinning chopper in the ninth minute was covered by a diving Erik Lefebvre (8 saves), David Schofield couldn’t plant his rope past Lefebvre five minutes later and no penalty kick was awarded when 6-4, 210-pound Andrew Hoxie was toppled in the box.

“We put one, two in on the very first shots and it’s game over,” said midfielder Jason Pelletier. “I mean, they didn’t really want to play. You saw they were kind of dead, kind of tired.”

Dead, tired but locked in a scoreless draw.

The City Islanders had three more golden scoring opportunities — one in the 21st minute by Petrasso and two more in the 26th by Hoxie and Sheanon Williams — but nothing fell.

And Charlotte had yet to author a shot on goal.

“It’s tough,” said Geoff Bloes, part of a defensive backfield that all but put a lid on dangerous Debola Ogunseye (2 shots), the feisty forward who burned the City Islanders earlier this month. Both of Ogunseye’s pops came before the break, the latter denied by keeper Danny Cepero (3 saves).

“It’s tough to walk away at home, especially when you feel like you dominated.”

Three more terrific scoring opportunities materialized after the break for the City Islanders, who watched a Petrasso effort get tipped high by Lefebvre, a Williams snapped header graze the crossbar and a Jason Hotchkin volley sail just over the cage — not 20 seconds after he entered the fray.

Nothing fell all night — except the City Islanders (1-4-2, 5 points) dropping back into the USL-2 basement. And with a weekend jaunt to Charleston and Charlotte awaiting, danger lurks.

“Almost just feels like a loss,” Becher said. “That’s how bad we needed it.”

“We can’t leave there with less than four points,” added Pelletier, who served up Williams’ near miss. “Now it’s pretty much do-or-die.”

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